US reviews hostage policy, as Kassig family pays tribute
US President Barack Obama has ordered a review of how Washington can release American hostages.
Washington’s refusal to negotiate or pay ransoms contrasts with the stance of several European nations believed to have secretly paid millions of dollars to save abductees, including some held by Islamic State.
The letter from Mr Obama came to light after an undated video showing the execution of US aid worker Peter Kassig was released on Sunday night.
In the letter, Christine Wormuth, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, says the review will focus “on examining family engagement, intelligence collection and diplomatic engagement policies”.
“The President recently directed a comprehensive review of the US government policy on overseas terrorist-related hostage cases,” she said in a note posted on The Daily Beast news site.
The move, she said, came “as a result of the increased frequency of hostage-taking of Americans overseas, and the recognition of the dynamic threat posed by specific terrorist groups”.
Kassig was the fifth Western hostage to be beheaded by Islamic State after Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and Britons David Haines and Alan Henning.
Foley’s parents defied government advice and began raising funds for a ransom but were told by US officials that they would be forbidden by law from paying.
Sotloff’s family also said they were told by a White House counter-terrorism official that they could face prosecution if they paid a ransom.
US officials insist Washington’s opposition to the practice has deterred groups like Al-Qa’ida or Islamic State from taking more Americans hostage.
British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that it had documented the execution of 1429 people in Syria by Islamic State in the five months since it declared the establishment of a “caliphate” in areas under its control.
The policy review comes as Washington prepares to double its military personnel in Iraq.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/terror/us-reviews-hostage-policy-as-kassig-family-pays-tribute/story-fnpdbcmu-1227127523585?nk=ce35a639558472633cadb66c77d6ad23